According to the NHS Start4Life, "babies can get all the fluid, nutrients and energy they need from breast milk or first infant formula until they're about six months old."

There are signs to suggest your baby might be ready for solid foods. Such as:

Your baby sits up with support

Your baby has neck and head control

Your baby gives you cues

Your baby loses the thrust instinct and her/his tongue no longer pushes out food from the mouth

Your baby can close lips over a spoon (if using purees)

Your baby is trying to grab pieces of finger foods and bring them to the mouth

Your baby is his/her chewing fist

Your baby is waking in the night when they have previously slept through

Your baby is wanting extra milk feed

If you think your baby is ready to be weaned, we've rounded up some useful tips – with the help of nutritionist Cassandra Barns and the baby food experts Babease – to help make moving your baby on to solid foods a little easier:

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1. Try one food at a time

During the first few weeks of weaning, it can be helpful to give your baby just one food at a time. This can help your baby get used to new flavours and textures, and can also make it easier to spot if he or she has a reaction to any specific food. Mixtures of two or more foods can be introduced after a few weeks, ideally after each has been eaten on its own.

2. Fruit and vegetables: explained

Avoid focusing on fruit when weaning your baby. Doing so can encourage their taste for sweet foods and make it more difficult to introduce vegetables and other savoury foods later on. Vegetables that have a mild and slightly sweet taste such as mashed sweet potato, carrots or parsnips are a great place to start. They are also relatively easy to digest.

When buying ready-made baby foods, carefully check the ingredients list. Vegetable named products often have fruit as the main ingredient, so are sweet rather than savoury.

Fruit and vegetables are an important part of your baby's diet and you shouldn't worry about the naturally occurring sugar in fruit and vegetables, unless they have been processed into juices and purees because 'free sugars' are released as a result. "These free sugars can cause tooth decay," according to Start4Life. It is advised that fruit purees only make up a small part of your baby's diet, and encourage less processed foods.

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3. Go small

Start with very small portions of food when first weaning your baby – even just a couple of teaspoons. His or her digestive system has to get used to digesting 'real' food, which entails producing more or different types of digestive enzymes, as well as changes in their gut bacteria. They will gradually be able to cope with more food and less milk.

4. Persevere!

If baby doesn't seem to like a new food at first, persevere. Babies are more open to new tastes and textures in their first year of life, so try to feed them as many different tastes as you can to get those taste buds tingling and broaden their tiny palates. Babies sometimes need to try new flavours up to 10-15 times before they accept it, so keep trying.

5. Be wary of sugar

"Foods like rusks, baby biscuits and biscotti, and puddings, often contain a lot of sugar so it's best to avoid them," according to Start4Life. Furthermore dried fruits or pressed fruit snacks also contain lots of sugar. If you choose to give your baby fruit juice, always dilute one part juice to 10 parts water and give your baby a free flow beaker or cup to lower their tooth decay risk.

6. Introduce family mealtimes

Try to eat together as much as possible, as your baby will learn from the rest of the family. Once your baby has accepted their first few mouthfuls, try to get into a routine of offering them solid food at the same time each day. The aim of complementary feeding is for your little one to transition from solely drinking milk to eating your usual family foods, so do try offering smaller mashed-up portions of the food that the rest of the family is eating, as long as you haven't added any salt, or sugar, or any other foods that are not suitable for babies.

7. Follow your baby's lead

Remember that every baby is different. Don't worry about how much they're eating at the beginning, as it's more important for your little one to get used to experiencing different flavours and textures. Allow plenty of time for eating, and go along with your baby's pace. Your baby may want to feed themselves, usually with their hands, or be happy to hold a spoon themselves whilst you spoon-feed her. Anything goes at this stage, so just follow your baby's lead. If your baby isn't interested, leave it and try again another day.

The materials in this web site are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. The web site does not have answers to all problems. Answers to specific problems may not apply to everyone. If you notice medical symptoms or feel ill, you should consult your doctor - for further information see our Terms and conditions.